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The fourth and final day of the round of 16 will see Sweden facing off against Switzerland as both teams look to qualify to the quarterfinals of this World Cup.
Sweden started off their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over South Korea as their captain Andreas Granqvist scored from the spot. The second match saw Sweden facing off against defending champions Germany in one of the matches of the World Cup as Sweden squandered a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 as Toni Kroos scored the winning goal in the 5th minute of injury time to lose 2-1. The third match saw them hammering Mexico 3-0 to help them finish top of Group F. Sweden will hoping to qualify for the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994.
Switzerland started off their World Cup campaign in impressive fashion as they came from behind to register a 1-1 draw against the mighty Brazil courtesy of a Steven Zuber goal. The second match saw them facing off against Serbia in a match that was marred by the eagle celebration by the Swiss goalscorers Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka that saw them coming from behind to register a 2-1 victory over Serbia.
The third and final match for the Swiss ended in a draw as Costa Rica held on to finish the match 2-2 helping Switzerland qualify as the second best team of Group E. Switzerland will be looking to win their first ever knockout match in the World Cup since 1954
Team News
Oscar Hiljemark or Gustav Svensson is expected to replace the suspended Sebastian Larsson.
Michael Lang is expected to replace captain Stephan Lichtsteiner while Johan Djourou or Nico Elvedi is expected to replace Fabian Schar as both the players are suspended.
Possible line-up for both the teams
Sweden XI: Olsen, Lindelof, Granqvist, Augustinsson, Claesson, Gustav Svensson, Ekdal, Emil Forsberg, Berg.
Switzerland XI: Sommer, Michael Lang, Akanji, Embolo, Johan Djourou, Xhaka, Behrami, Rodriguez, Dzemaili, Gavranovic, Shaqiri.
Head to Head Stats
This is the first time Sweden and Switzerland are meeting in a major tournament.
Sweden is unbeaten in the last 3 matches against Switzerland with the last match ending 1-1 in Malmo in 2002.
Interesting Stats
Switzerland has not scored a goal in the knockout stage of a World Cup since their 7-5 loss to Austria in the quarter-finals of the 1954 World Cup which they hosted with their last ever knockout goal at a major tournament since 1954 being scored by Xherdan Shaqiri against Poland in Euro 2016. Swiss has failed to progress from the round of 16 in their previous three attempts.
This will be Sweden's 50th World Cup game as they will become the 11th team to reach that tally with Mexico being the only team that has featured in more games than the Swedes without winning the trophy.
Sweden has reached the knockout stage at each of their last four World Cup appearances.
Since ending as runners-up in 1958, Sweden has progressed beyond the second round only once when they finished third in 1994 World Cup.
Match Date: 3 July 2018
Match Timing: 19:30 IST
Match Venue: Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia
My Prediction
Sweden 1-1 Switzerland
Sweden winning on penalties
Which team do you see going forward? Sound off in the comments below!
